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Good, cheap, easy meals

mobil1syn said:
milk with a good whey protein in it will do what you want. mix in some raw veggies and fruit, should check all your macro boxes.

other option is meal prep. spend a few hours once a week making food for the week. pull out of the freezer the night before, toss in the microwave later in the day.
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I just did this tonight. Made 16 meals in about 3 hours for less than $4 a meal. Beef and black bean burritos. Smoked pork tenderloin. Smoked chicken quarters. I can switch up sides with the above for variety.

On Monday I made several days worth of bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast. Thick cut bacon $6 a pound and my farm fresh eggs are free.

Only 3 weeks to prep two race cars before leaving for the next race and I work one of those weekends. Gotta be thrifty with my time.
 
5 lunches (.75-1lb) worth if meat in the pan, the plate is an experiment for the 6th meal. add a piece of fruit and you have a solid meal. defrosted on the counter overnight, fridge for the day, 5mins to season, 10-15mins on the bbq. 5mins to cleanup and 7ish to package for the freezer. take out what im going to eat the night before and toss it in the lunch box to thaw.

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Eight or ten eggs in a skillet. Brown a pound or two of hamburger meat if you’re feeling fancy, use a can or two of chipped beef or canned chili if you’re not. Mix it in and let it cook awhile until you have sort of a pie. You can add onions or peppers, beans, corn or potatoes if you feel like it.
 
Gbkeith said:
Eight or ten eggs in a skillet. Brown a pound or two of hamburger meat if you’re feeling fancy, use a can or two of chipped beef or canned chili if you’re not. Mix it in and let it cook awhile until you have sort of a pie. You can add onions or peppers, beans, corn or potatoes if you feel like it.
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What is chipped beef? Off to google
 
Lazy enchiladas

Break up a pound or two of hamburger meat and start it browning. Put some spice or seasoning on it as you prefer. While that’s happening put a tortilla or two on a plate. Put whatever cheese you like and some onions or whatever on top. Maybe some peppers. I’m lazy and buy them already chopped. Microwave the plate for 30 seconds or so. You want the cheese soft but not melted yet.

Go back to the meat. If it’s done spread a bunch on top of the cheese. Then put another layer of cheese on top. Now go back to the microwave for the final nuking. Got 45 seconds or so this time, maybe a minute depending on how much cheese you put in there. If you’re feeling fancy you can put another tortilla on top and do another layer of everything. Or fry up an egg or two to put on top.

Depending on how hungry you are and how much meat you cook you can get several meals out if it.
 
Wife makes zuppa toscana, super easy prep and its a one pot deal.

Get some ground sausage (we use spicy) and 1/2 to a whole onion diced, toss in instapot and brown it up.
Once thats done, chop up some cauliflower and toss in with 3 quarts of veggie (thats what we use) broth
Set Instapot for 20 mins. Once depressurized toss in some kale/spinach if you'd like and a little S&P to bring out the tastes.

Its pretty damn good.
 
mobil1syn said:
5mins to season, 10-15mins on the bbq. 5mins to cleanup and 7ish to package for the freezer. take out what im going to eat the night before and toss it in the lunch box to thaw.
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another week, another pile of chicken. got some ground beef and rice in there for a little variety. my current self is kicking my previous self for not eating better. im lazy and have discovered that its less effort to meal prep like this than the effort of buying lunch. my desire drive thru food is all but gone these days.

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mobil1syn said:
another week, another pile of chicken. got some ground beef and rice in there for a little variety. my current self is kicking my previous self for not eating better. im lazy and have discovered that its less effort to meal prep like this than the effort of buying lunch. my desire drive thru food is all but gone these days.
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Is the weight and health trending in the direction you want?
 
CDA 455 II said:
Dominos Pizza had a 50% off sale on their pizzas, so I ordered two XL pizzas twice and got 12 meals out of them with said meal being $5.
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thewife buys 5-6 packs of chicken breast when they go onsale for $1.99/lb so each 'meal' is $1.49.

JR4X said:
Is the weight and health trending in the direction you want?
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i dont weigh myself, clothes fit a little looser. this is all about developing new habits and maintaining muscle mass for the long run. have fell down a rabbit hole as of late and there is a lot of research that links overall health in the end of life with lean muscle. once you crest 40, maintaining lean mass become difficult, so lots of protein and minimizing calorie intake should keep me from getting fat and preserving muscle mass. once you start looking around youll notice that the elderly without muscle mass have a tendency to be more frail. i could go on but yea, the body composition/appearance is a byproduct of the main goal.
 
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mobil1syn said:
another week, another pile of chicken. got some ground beef and rice in there for a little variety. my current self is kicking my previous self for not eating better. im lazy and have discovered that its less effort to meal prep like this than the effort of buying lunch. my desire drive thru food is all but gone these days.

IMG_0781.jpeg
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This is what I’ve found is the easiest make a big meal that you can get a few meals out of then divide it up and freeze what you won’t eat that week. I don’t mind cooking but I hate cleaning and it always seemed like I spent 50% or more of “cooking” cleaning and finding items on the recipe.
 
JD Miller said:
toasted bread with peanut butter

or

Bread with peanut butter and jelly
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I've been on a huge toast and peanut butter kick for the last few weeks. Every morning three slices min. Dark toast slathered with butter and once that melts off a thick slather of peanut butter, sometimes will add a little jelly or honey just because. Good source of protein and calories to get the day going.
 
Thin spaghetti, and a jar of sauce, with a can of tomatoes added. Spice sauce to taste. 3 full meals.
 
Penetrode Offroad said:
Wife makes zuppa toscana, super easy prep and its a one pot deal.

Get some ground sausage (we use spicy) and 1/2 to a whole onion diced, toss in instapot and brown it up.
Once thats done, chop up some cauliflower and toss in with 3 quarts of veggie (thats what we use) broth
Set Instapot for 20 mins. Once depressurized toss in some kale/spinach if you'd like and a little S&P to bring out the tastes.

Its pretty damn good.
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I've got a variation of that on the stove right now (bachelor for the week as fam is away on Spring Break).

I used a pound of sweet Italian but next time I would use two. Also used two onions, kidney beans, and a regular cannonball cabbage. I am cooking it in the creuset, but the cook time is essentially the same (simmer for 20 min after reaching boil). It looks like it can feed me for days.

www.simplyrecipes.com

Italian Sausage and Cabbage Stew

EASY, hearty and simple Italian peasant stew with cabbage, parsley and Italian sausage.
www.simplyrecipes.com www.simplyrecipes.com

And, I got to drink the rest of the wine while it simmered.

ETA - tasted great but a little thin (more soup like than stew). I would probably only use a 1/2 quart of water since the cabbage lets loose a lot of water as it cooks. Also, to make it even cheaper/faster, I was thinking a package of frozen succotash or other vegetable medley and some frozen meatballs all dumped in at once would be easier but probably lose a little in the flavor department.
 
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Glad I'm not the only one that like to spice it up like JR4X.

My ol man grows a shit ton of Habaneros, Chile Petin, Chile Pequin, Jalapenos and Ghosts. I think he has a Reaper planted this year as well.
I make all of my own hot sauce and add it to just about every meal. I'm down to about 9 jars so Im getting low. lol

I usually just make my own hash. A little of everything. Ground meat (from cattle we raise and process), veggies, rotel, black beans and go with it.
Goulash is my second favorite. Easy and make about 4 meals.

Really like where this thread is going with all of the new ideas.
 
I saw a new to me recipe this morning.

Good? Don't know yet.
Cheap? Yup maybe 50 cents a serving.
Easy? You can boil water right.

Hoover Stew.

Macaroni, however much ya want. Big can of diced or crushed tomatoes. Cheap weiners.

Make macaroni and set aside. Fry up weiner chunks. Throw the weiner chunks into the macaroni along with the tomatoes and get it hot, put it into a bowl and chow down.

It reminds me of something my ex used to make which had rice and cheap breakfast sausage along with the tomatoes.
 
There is a 60 page recipe thread over at corner-carvers.com (was the PBB/IBB of the road racing world). The place has dried up due to running unchecked for too long and too many asshole egos. The beat-downs used to be legendary and the tech still is. There was no room for shills - in fact, I think someone cross-posted the original Wenzel incident which introduced me to the PBB.

Anyway, I am combing through it and will be posting as I find/re-find recipes that always intrigued me.

This one fits here:

Low-effort Chicken & Rice dish:

  1. Fill one casserole 25% of the way up with long-grain white rice (or Jasmine, or Basmati rice) -- remember/measure how much rice was needed.
  2. Place chicken parts (I use legs & thighs,) on top of rice -- however many will fit without too much crowding.
  3. Season with salt (lots of salt -- this is a bland dish otherwise,) freshly ground pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.
  4. Add an amount of water equal to 150% of the volume of rice used -- err on the generous side.
  5. Cover all with a mixture of creamed soup (cream of mushroom, or chicken, or celery, etc...) thinned with water equal to 50% of the rice used.
  6. Season again with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
  7. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
  8. Uncover and either bake at 425, or under the broiler until browned.
If you don't get enough water in there, the rice won't fully cook, and you'll have crunchy rice. If it's too soupy, continue to cook the water off.

Take care not to use too much rice -- it expands when cooked!

Will feed you for days...
 
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